Cannabis production company announces plans for Chase facility

The company behind a cannabis growing operation under construction near Celista has announced plans for another facililty in Chase.

Liht Cannabis Corp. says construction of the first building of their North Shuswap project is nearing completion. Plans for the project include a total of 10 buildings at 10,000 square feet each. The company says it remains on schedule for completion in May, and that each of the buildings will have the capacity to grow 1,630,800 grams annually.

Liht also announced it will be involved in development of a second cannabis production facility in the region, this one near Chase.

The Chase project is planned to be up to 486,000 square feet on a 120-acre parcel of land not located in the ALR.

Liht says in a news release they selected this location because it has prior zoning approval by the TNRD, and is located near the Trans-Canada Highway for easy distribution. Construction of this facility has not yet begun, and is being undertaken in partnership with a numbered B.C. company, 1186626 B.C. Ltd.

Alex Krause of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District says they have not received an application for a building permit, but have been informed the company is finishing their application for a cultivation licence from Health Canada. He clarifies that cannabis projects in the TNRD in approved zones, which meet TNRD provisions (buildings must be set back 50 metres from the property line, and follow Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) regulations if applicable) can apply directly for a building permit.

Joni Heinrich, CAO of the Village of Chase, also says they have not received an application for the facility, noting only that it will be located outside of Chase on TNRD land.

Due to the concrete base that was planned for the 10 buildings near Celista, Liht had initially faced potential issues with construction on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) property. ALR regulations on cannabis growing operations, amended in August 2018, stipulate that structures built to grow cannabis on ALR land must have a soil base.

However, they have come up with an alternative to concrete foundations, which specifically meets the new ALR regulations. The new base for these structures will be a mixture of soil and microbial and bacteria resistant materials. They plan to release more details as construction on the additional buildings begin, according to a news release.

After finalizing their cultivation license from Health Canada, Liht can then begin the growing process.